- Messier 59 (Wikipedia)
Messier 59 or M59, also known as NGC 4621, is an elliptical galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It is a member of the Virgo Cluster, with the nearest fellow member 8′ away and around 5 magnitudes fainter. The nearest cluster member of comparable brightness is the lenticular galaxy NGC 4638, which is around 17′ away. It and the angularly nearby elliptical galaxy Messier 60 were both discovered by Johann Gottfried Koehler in April 1779 when observing comet seeming close by. Charles Messier listed both in the Messier Catalogue about three days after Koehler’s discovery.
- Delta Scuti (stars.astro.illinois.edu)
Modest Delta Scuti (in Scutum, the Shield), shining only at 5th magnitude (4.71) in a relatively obscure modern constellation best known for its placement in the Milky Way, stands out as the prototype of one of these, the pulsating “Delta Scuti stars,” of which Caph in Cassiopeia is the brightest.
- Delta Scuti (Wikipedia)
Delta Scuti, Latinized from δ Scuti, is a variable star in the southern constellation Scutum. With an apparent visual magnitude that fluctuates around 4.72, it is the fifth-brightest star in this small and otherwise undistinguished constellation. Analysis of the parallax measurements place this star at a distance of about 199 light-years (61 parsecs) from Earth. It is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −45 km/s.